Well, I’m in Mumbai for a business trip. I’d been looking forward to this trip because India is unlikely to be a place I’m going to travel to much on my own, so business trips will be the way I get exposure to the country. I had a memorable trip to Dehli around 1997, also for business.
Mumbai International Airport — Ugh!
For a country that is on the up and up, Mumbai’s international airport is a huge disappointment. It’s chaotic, inefficient and more bureaucratic than most airports. I didn’t have any checked luggage, yet still spent nearly 45 minutes in various lines before emerging through the airport exit — and this was at 1:00 a.m. in the morning when you’d think things would’ve slowed down a bit.
I’m staying at the Taj Lands End, a nice, modern business hotel with a superb Indian restaurant. You’re constantly reminded of the terrorist threat in the country though. Every car coming into the hotel is checked for bombs, and all guests pass through not one but two metal detectors before being allowed into the building. I later discovered most important public buildings have similar security measures in place.
Crawford Market
I took a walk near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Crawford Market on my first day in Mumbai, a Sunday. The Gothic style Terminus was breathtakingly gorgeous. I was advised not to go near the place on weekdays, however, because of enormous crowds and petty crime against foreign tourists.
There are many beautiful colonial buildings such as the Terminus dotted throughout Mumbai, and skyscrapers are popping up all over the place as well. But most of the city is pretty old and decrepit. The sights, smells and textures are definitely Third World. The air is hazy with pollution, there is a sea of humanity everywhere and the traffic is chaotic. If China and India are competing to modernize, India is definitely the tortoise in the race — which may be a good thing for India in the long run.
The street markets in Mumbai are infinitely more interesting than the ones in Hong Kong. Like Hong Kong’s markets they also sell a lot of cheap junk, but in addition you’ll find a lot of nicely made arts and crafts, jewelry and textiles.
As in China, many of the men in India — particularly those from rural areas — still have the habit of spitting on the street. But at least they don’t launch phlegm missiles with an emphatic “Pa-TOO-ey” the way the Chinese do. Instead, Indians just sort of let it dribble out — which is still pretty gross, come to think of it.
Another good thing about India compared to China is that people smoke less here, so you’re not choking from second-hand smoke all the time.
Indians are obviously mad about cricket. You read about it in the front pages of newspapers and you see boys playing the game in many side streets and back alleys in Mumbai. I wonder how come the game never took off in Hong Kong, another former British colony.
Arranged Marriages and the Modern Indian Male
My Indian colleague J, whom I met on this trip, is an energetic, boyish, 32-year old white-collar professional with an MBA from a prestigious Indian university. He was born in Mumbai and spent most of his life here. To my surprise, he had an arranged marriage, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I probably wouldn’t have gotten married if it wasn’t for my arranged marriage, you know” he said. “I’m really shy around women.”
When I asked J how his arranged marriage worked, his description of it didn’t sound too harsh or rigid. Basically various family members went out and searched all over for a suitable wife on his behalf, and even helped him filter candidates based on a set criteria. They brought him ten prospects, and he even had the right of refusal.
“That sounds more like a personalized dating service than an arranged marriage,” I said.
J laughed. “Yeah, it’s great. I recommend it for everyone!”
I asked him how long it was from the day he met his wife until they got married. “Fifteen days,” he replied.
“Fifteen days?!” I was incredulous. “You weren’t obligated to marry that quickly, were you? Why didn’t you wait a little longer to make sure she was the right one?”
“Well, I didn’t want to go through a long dating period,” he replied. “If we went out on dates, we’d be going to clubs, bars, movies, and I just didn’t want to see my girlfriend doing those kind of things as an unmarried woman, you know what I mean? Not that they’re bad things, mind you. I have many women friends who date and do those things. I’m completely OK with that. Really, I am. I just don’t want my girlfriend to be doing those things. If my family finds a good wife for me, I want to go straight to marriage.”
J is obviously happily married and has a three-year old daughter whom he adores. He beams every time he talks about his family. His eyes light up, his chest puffs up and his smile spreads from ear to ear.
A Chinese Chef in India
For dinner on my first night I went to Ming Yan restaurant in my hotel. I had a feeling I was going to have lots of rich Indian food over the next few days so I thought I’d have some Chinese comfort food in this restaurant first.
The restaurant’s Chinese chef happened to be at the entrance when I arrived and was visibly excited to see a fellow Chinese. He kept chatting with me even as the hostess started to lead me into the dining room.
I ordered steamed fish Cantonese style and stir-fried veggies. The food tasted more or less like food in Hong Kong, though the fish was swimming in twice as much soy sauce as a similar dish in Hong Kong and the vegetables were a bit bland.
The chef later came to my table to see how I liked the food. I told him it was nice to fine decent Chinese food in India.
“Indians like strong, heavy flavors, so I usually add more sauce to dishes than I would back in Hong Kong,” he said.
He stood there for a while to chat with me. A middle-aged man with a warm, round face, the chef is from Hong Kong but has worked at the Taj for more than a decade. He lives in the hotel with his wife, and had raised his daughter largely in Mumbai.
He said there weren’t that many Hong Kong people in the city, and he can’t relate to the Mainland Chinese who have been arriving in recent years. He seemed to lead a relatively isolated and lonely life in India, living in a culture that perhaps remained alien to him, and yearned for the things he’d left behind in Hong Kong.
I asked if it had been hard to convince his daughter to come to India.
“Oh yes,” he said. “She resisted it for a long time. But I wanted to have the family together with me here. She understood that. So in the end she gave in. Luckily she did well here and is now studying in New Zealand,” he said proudly.
Does he intend to stay on? He took a deep breath. “Well, they keep renewing my contract, and it’s good money, so I stay,” he replied. “And I get to live in this grand hotel.”
Mumbai Massage
I ended the day with a massage at Aura Thai Body Spa. It was exactly what I was looking for. Every move made by the masseuse seemed deliberate and purposeful. Just what I needed after an exhausting day navigating the crowded, noisy streets of Mumbai.
Laocai: My apologies for the delay in reading! I failed to immediately write down “read laocai’s blog,’ when I learned of it, and so, predictably, it fell off the radar for awhile. I’ve always wanted to go to India, and I appreciate your impressions. Clear, insightful and amusing, as always. I like your style. Straightforward, but not overly journalistic. I definitely remember the Chinese spitting, and yes, gross every time. Sounds like that hasn’t changed much in China in the last twenty years (?) Cricket remains a bit of a mystery to me, what with its ‘sticky wickets’ and ‘centuries’ and other inscrutables. I see India is playing Pakistan in the semis for cricket. Lots of coverage on that in the US media–practically incessant (jj, of course). I want to go see the Taj Mahal. Have you been there? I know it’s in Agra–is that close to Delhi, your prior visit? Thanks for the post.
Kevin